The Panic Room Barber Shop

Time Out says

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Time Out says

Cult freelance barber, Mervyn Hi, finally has a space of his own – in the form of a tiny two vintage barber chair salon simply named 62 Neil Road Barber Shop (‘So people won’t ask stupid questions about where we are,’ he says with a cheeky smile – though it’s a bit hard to find, tucked away at the back of BooksActually’s satellite Math Paper Press store).

Inside, Hi and his apprentice Alisha Thien execute edgy hairdos for its creative and hipster clientele. ‘The haircuts are free, they’re just paying me to talk to them,’ says Hi of the $35 cuts for men and women. Each with a wry sense of humour, the self-taught barber and ‘barberette’ are known for their ‘hair tattoos’ – a method of shaving hair away in patterns on a buzzed section of the scalp – but can also create ’50s-style pompadours and quiffs for the dudes, and androgynous bobs for the ladies.

The small space also provides after-cut care by recommending products from their wide selection of pomades, each tried and tested by Hi and his friends in local climes. Its exclusive range of hair tamers features pomades by dapper American brands like Js Sloane ($38), Layrite ($33) and Shiner Gold ($33), as well as brands like the more popular Imperial ($40-$43), Bona Fide ($29) and Dr. Rubin’s ($29) which the pair can recommend, based on your hair’s needs.